Communication Doesn't Have To Suck
Conflict happens when communication doesn’t. Just because you remember saying something doesn’t you have communicated effectively, influentially or strategically.
How come communication is consistently ranked low on most organization feedback surveys?
How come leaders who had great relationships with peers struggle to communicate effectively when they advance up the ladder?
How do you find your voice as a leader, support your leaders, and instill a healthy culture across your team and/or organization?
These questions are more and more prevalent in the virtual world. The answers are not highly complex, but it will take intentionality to become a more effective strategic communicator.
Think of it this way: When my home is in chaos, it is usually because of a lack of communication. My wife didn’t remember me saying something or I did not say something clearly. My boys didn’t remember us asking them to wash the dishes or we didn’t communicate it clear enough. (I’m sure you’ve never experienced this…)
There are a few ways to solve this problem.
Picture after good communication …
Option 1 | Yell and scream and the first one to give in loses, thus proving the most stubborn spouse is the best communicator.
Option 2 | Go silent and stop verbally communicating creating a house of tension and awkwardness for everyone.
Quite frankly, those are two crappy options that I see see spouses take far too often and sadly I see it in the workplace as well. If you need to work on that click this link. (Love Life At Home)
Option 3 | Communicate verbally, clarify alignment, write it down, and share the calendar.
When my wife and I share our plans, remind one another of those plans and write those plans down - we love Life at Home (most of the time!). Usually the alignment happens during the follow-up conversation.
We have plenty of things going on, so it’s easy to forget something. Our weekly game plan helps with this.
I hope you are getting the point. Conflict happens when communication doesn’t. Just because you remember saying something, doesn’t mean you have communicated effectively, influentially or strategically.
Your goal is to gain alignment and Buy-In. Your goal is to help every employee feel empowered to do their jobs and to have clarity in what their job is. Things change and so clarity becomes more challenging during change.
How are you going to provide clarity to your organization?
How are you going to gain alignment?
How are you going to lead through constant change and keep a healthy culture?
The answer rests in effective, clear and consistent communication.
Here are some tactics. you might try.
Tactic 1: Always share vision, strategy, and celebrations during company wide and leadership meetings.
You will feel like you are beating the drum into the ground. But I promise, once you stop beating the drum, the wrong beat will start to be played. You set the tone, so you must set it consistently.
Tactic 2: Forums with teams across all departments
Share vision and communicate desired culture. Then ask what you can do to help everyone love their Life at Work. Anything you can change - change it quickly . The CEO of Delta Dental did this and two changes made a big impact to their morale. He added Sprite to the soda machine and paper towels to the bathrooms. Sometimes the changes are not hard; they are just not thought of. Listen, respond, and watch the team improve.
Tactic 3: Make Rounds
Spend time walking through the office and talk to your team.
Ask: “What’s something exciting that you are working on?”
Ask: “How are your kids doing?”
Ask: “What’s your new favorite restaurant?”
The key to building relationships is to be authentic and personal. You are the leader, so people can easily think you are unapproachable. This happens in small companies and large companies. Making rounds can break down that stereotype and improve the ability for you to be heard.
Tactic 4: Daily or Weekly Updates
Send out daily or weekly updates with stories of the vision and mission being lived out in the organization across all levels. As Donnie Smith, Former CEO of Tyson says, “What you talk is about is people believe is important.” Your words and your stories will influence the attitudes, behaviors, ethics, (culture) of your organization. Share metrics, updates, reasons for change, etc.. and keep people in the known and aligned.
Problem Most Likely Solved
When you leverage all 4 tactics, you will have a much better shot at actually communicating with clarity in your organization. If you only try one tactic, it’s kind of like only saying something once to your spouse and choosing to believe that’s enough.
If you need help creating the right tactics and messaging for you and your organization, we can help you get to where you need to go. Just shoot an email to Michael@insightlg.com today.